Oxfordshire Cricket has reached the end of the current kit cycle that has been in place since late 2017 and will soon transition into a new Training and On Field match range supplied by Serious Cricket. The introduction of the new kit cycle was originally scheduled for 2021, but we opted to defer the transition into a new range for a further 12 months due to the impacting Covid-19 pandemic. The new Training and On Field match range will be launched in 2022 and in place for three playing seasons with the partnership between Oxfordshire Cricket and Serious Cricket extended until the end of 2024. 

The new Training and On Field range is a bespoke design made in the Pro Sublimated Teamwear range that features a return of the original county colours to establish a greater connection to the history of Oxfordshire Cricket. The first known origins of the county colours date back nearly one hundred years to the 1920s, where in 1927, it was concluded at the AGM that all subscribing members be allowed to wear the original Club Colours being Blue, Magenta, and Gold. A quarter of a century on from the inception of the original county colours, the then known Oxfordshire County Cricket Club rules booklet of 1953, and later dated issue of 1985 both stated that the club colours were to be dark blue, magenta, and gold stripes with a white Ox badge on the dark blue County Cricket cap and blazer. Over thirty years later the Oxfordshire County Cricket Club (OCCC) and the Oxfordshire County Cricket Association (OCCA) would amalgamate in 1996 to form what is now known as Oxfordshire Cricket Board (OCB).

With a history steeped in the colours of Blue, Magenta, and Gold we wanted to embrace the three original county colours within the new kit cycle, whilst also enabling current players, parents’ and guardians and workforce the chance to influence the forming of the new range. Our Pathway squad players from the 2021 season were afforded the opportunity to share their design ideas for the training and playing shirts and our parents and guardians, coaches and adult players had the chance to feedback on what they would like improved in the playing or training kit. The most significant feedback received was the need to provide both a men’s and women’s fit in the coloured playing range which we are now delighted to offer as part of the new kit cycle.

We are pleased to be transitioning into a new training and on field match range that incorporates both past traditions and present views, but we are acutely aware of the difficulties a new kit cycle may place upon our pathway families. To help bridge the transition into the new kit cycle we shall be introducing several interventions in 2022 to reduce the costs associated with the training and on-field match range. Further information will be communicated once final pathway squad selections have been made.

“Our aspiration for the new training and on field match range was to embrace the three original county colours of Blue, Magenta, and Gold and for the design of the clothing range to be shaped by our current players, parents’ and guardians and workforce. We hope that the new kit range will foster a greater belonging and connection to Oxfordshire Cricket and that everyone will take great pride in wearing the new range they helped shape.”

Matthew Barnes, Performance Director

‘’The Board recognises the hard work that Matt and the team have put into managing the transition to the new kit range, this is a contractual commitment which we cannot defer a second time. However, we are fully aware that these are tough financial times for many, and the timing is not ideal. Matt will be sharing our thoughts on how we make this transition affordable for all selected within pathway squads. This is one of many important components of our EDI plan as we strive to make cricket accessible to everyone’’ 

Chris Clements, Chairman